'We'll see' - Arsenal braced for hammer injury blow against Man City as Liverpool watch on

Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of a key player for their crunch clash against Manchester City.

The Gunners, who are second in the Premier League, trail Liverpool by six points. After finishing runners-up for the past two seasons, Mikel Arteta’s side again face the prospect of playing bridesmaid, with the Reds firmly in command of the title race.

Arne Slot’s side were afforded the luxury of resting a total of nine regular starters for their 3-2 loss against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last night. Captain Virgil van Dijk, talisman Mo Salah, No.1 goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz were all left on Merseyside as Liverpool had already secured their spot in the last 16 of the competition. They will all be well recovered for a tricky trip to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.

Raya concern

Arsenal, meanwhile, earned a 2-1 win at Girona to ensure their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League. However, the Gunners were without first-choice goalkeeper David Raya. The Spain international travelled for the game but on-loan Bournemouth stopper Neto instead featured between the posts.

Arsenal now prepare for a huge game against Premier League champions City on Sunday afternoon. Arteta’s men could be nine points adrift of Liverpool come kick-off. And the Emirates Stadium boss admitted Raya is doubtful to be involved.

“He certainly could not play and he’s injured and that’s it,” said Arteta when asked if Raya was a doubt to face City at the Emirates Stadium this weekend. Arteta was then quizzed on what Raya’s injury is. The Arsenal boss replied: “Let’s see how it goes.”

It would be a hammer blow if Raya is not available and Neto, who is aged 35, may have to again deputise against Pep Guardiola’s City. But Arteta was pleased with Neto’s performance against Girona. He added: “That’s why he’s here to do that job and he’s done it for 20-odd years in his career. I’m very happy first of all that he played, it’s been seven months since he played his last match and it’s not easy so very happy that he played and we won the game.”

Watkins speculation

Arsenal have reportedly made a bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins. The Gunners are short of firepower with Bakayo Saka currently sidelined with a hamstring injury and Gabriel Jesus missing the rest of the season with an ACL problem.

Arteta was tight-lipped on Arsenal’s supposed pursuit of Watkins, with Villa rebuffing their interest. But the former Everton midfielder says he has confidence that the North London outfit can bring in players before the transfer closes on Monday 3 February. He said: “I cannot talk about any of that, my confidence is that we have an amazing club and people working always to try to improve and let’s see what happens.”

In other news, Arne Slot has confirmed that it is unlikely one Liverpool player will be leaving after being impressed by his performance in the PSV defeat.